Lesson 29: Alma 36- 38

July 20-26
Alma 36-38
"Look to God and Live"

Materials: picture of butterfly (below), picture of scriptures printed and cut out, exact-o-knife, printout of scripture truths (below)
Opening Song: "The Books of the Books of Mormon" (Children's Songbook, )
Opening Prayer:
Scripture: Alma 37:6 "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass."

Attention Activity:
Show the picture of the butterfly below. Who has heard of the butterfly effect? The butterfly effect is a theory that says that something as small as the flapping of a butterfly's wings can have a huge effects later on like a tornado. Small things can bring about big changes in peoples lives.

Lesson: 
Read Alma 37:6-7. The small and simple things Alma is referring to in these scriptures are the scriptures. The scriptures are a small thing. We can hold them in our hands; we can carry them on our phones. But they are also great things. How would your life be different without the scriptures? 

Alma knew the importance of the scriptures. Before his death, he shares the importance of the scriptures with his son Helaman before giving him the ancient records. 

Activity: Lift the flap activity
Before the lesson, print out the two pictures below. Take an exact-o-knife and cut out windows on the picture of the scriptures on the solid colored lines. The dotted lines are where the windows will be folded open. Once cut, glue the picture of the scriptures on top of the paper with the words on it so that when the windows are opened, you will be able to read the words in the window. 

Have your family take turns reading the blessings of the scriptures from Alma 37. Supplement your discussion with the quotes below taken from D. Todd Christofferson's talk, "The Blessings of Scripture." (General Conference, April 2010.)

"The scriptures enlarge our memory by helping us always to remember the Lord and our relationship to Him and the Father. They remind us of what we knew in our premortal life. And they expand our memory in another sense by teaching us about epochs, people, and events that we did not experience personally."

"God uses scripture to unmask erroneous thinking, false traditions, and sin with its devastating effects. He is a tender parent who would spare us needless suffering and grief and at the same time help us realize our divine potential."

"In the end, the central purpose of all scripture is to fill our souls with faith in God the Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ—faith that They exist; faith in the Father’s plan for our immortality and eternal life; faith in the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which animates this plan of happiness; faith to make the gospel of Jesus Christ our way of life; and faith to come to know “the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom [He has] sent”

"Because they expound the doctrine of Christ, the scriptures are accompanied by the Holy Spirit, whose role it is to bear witness of the Father and the Son (see 3 Nephi 11:32). Therefore, being in the scriptures is one way we receive the Holy Ghost."

Discussion Questions: How has your life been blessed by the scriptures? How can we teach the scriptures to "future generations"? How can we help each other study the scriptures more diligently? 

Alma didn't understand how his words would impact future generations, including us. He did not know what exact reason he was carving all of these things into the plates, but he knew that God wanted him to. His words and the words of all of the other prophets have blessed the lives and brought comfort to millions. Bear your testimony of the scriptures. 

Closing Song: "Search Ponder and Pray" (Children's Songbook, ) 
Closing Prayer:
Refreshment: Peanut Butter Brookies recipe here (If you have peanut allergies, substitute for rolo or other bite sized candy)